A/N: Well now, I have some good news for you wonderful readers, which is also bad news for me: My goal is to finish this fanfic, which will end on the day of the election, the same day that the election episode airs, November 4th. So, good for you guys, cause I'll be updating a lot, bad for me, cause I'll be driving myself crazy trying to finish on time!! Well, without further ado, we'll see how this chapter comes out, as I have no clue what to write in this one, and I'm just gonna wing it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing until such time that Alex and I come up with a plan to overtake the show, and steal the amazing Van and Jake. (cough And Karl too, but don't tell Alex!) lol.
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It was probably a week or so after I'd ran into Luke at Al's. We'd seen each other around campus, and even hung out after one of the soccer games when Noah was working. Apparently Luke doesn't want to hang out with me when Noah is around; he'll hardly acknowledge me when he's around.
Anyways, he still seemed a bit uncomfortable since I went through that charade at Al's, but he's loosened up a bit, I guess. At least, he didn't visibly flinch or shudder when I went into Metro and saw him sitting at the bar and walked over to talk to him. Actually, I wasn't sure that he noticed me, so I just sat down beside him, "Hey, what's wrong?"
He was just staring angrily at the fries on his plate, as though they had performed a heinous crime against him, "Nothing," he muttered under his breath.
I smiled a bit and hit him lightly on the shoulder, "Come on, man, you know I'm not gonna buy that, so just tell me what's up."
Luke finally looked up and caught my eye, "Its really nothing, just Brian, this guy that's running a foundation I started."
"Oh right, the, uh, Luke Snyder Foundation, right?" I asked. He gave me a questioning look, and I shrugged, "I saw the pamphlets at the festival."
This comment only made him give me an even more confused look, "You went to the festival?"
I shrugged a bit, "Just for a minute, I had to get to class and I was passing by," I said, which was only half true. I did have to get to class, but I had more time to stop if I'd wanted to. I just saw his name on some pamphlets and stopped because I thought it was a campaign thing.
He sighed a bit and went back to staring at his fries, though not as angrily, "Yeah, well, that's kinda the problem."
Thinking for a moment, I finally shook my head, "Alright, you lost me."
"Brian doesn't think I should be handing out the pamphlets at the festival; thinks it sends the wrong image about the foundation," he said in a cold tone.
"Well, does it really matter what he thinks? I mean, it's your foundation after all," I said reasonably.
"Yeah, but he's threatened to quit, and I can't run the foundation by myself."
"Then find someone else to; someone who won't make a big deal out of you being gay."
"You're a fine one to talk; you threatened to beat me up when you found out."
"Come on, man, I thought we were passed that," I said with a sigh.
"We are, we are," he said holding his hands out in front of him and smiling a bit.
I smiled a bit and looked away for a moment, but when I looked back at him, he was still smiling at me, "What?"
He just shook his head and looked away from me, "Nothing; you're just really different now is all."
Forcing another faked smile, I just put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly, "Well I could've told you that," I said quietly. I felt him tense slightly, but other wise he didn't show any kind of reaction to my words.
I moved my hand after a moment, and he stood, pulling out his wallet, but I grabbed his wrist and shook my head, using my free hand to pull out my own wallet, "Don't worry about it; I'll get it."
He didn't argue, or anything, though he did look a bit reluctant as he shoved his wallet back into his back pocket when I released my grip, "Thanks," he said quietly, "Well, I need to go; I promised Faith I'd take her over to her friend's house tonight."
Nodding slightly, I threw a few bills onto the counter and slid my wallet back into my pocket, "Alright, well I'll catch you later then."
He just nodded, "Yeah, see ya," he muttered, and left without another word.
I turned back to the counter, covering my face with my hands, Jonathan's orders running unwanted through my head. How could he really expect me to do such a terrible thing to Luke? I mean really. Right now, it was almost like he was my best friend again, and I had to ruin it jut to win this stupid campaign. Now all I'm wondering, is if it's all really worth it….
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A/N: I know, its short!! I'm sorry!! But the next chapter will be longer, and far more interesting, I promise!! And it will be up soon, as I want to keep my deadline in tact!! But please, still leave me reviews!! They give me motivation!! SO much of it!!
